Visually challenged applicants at Delhi University are willing to trade the course of their choice for a hostel seat.
Juggling issues ranging from a handful of seats on offer across colleges; the economically challenged backgrounds they hail from , a hostel seat goes beyond the basic need for accommodation for a Persons with Disability (PwD) student.
Increase in applications
This, at a time when the 2019 admissions cycle for the university registered an increase in applications received from candidates falling under the category going up to 1,650 from 1,550 last year.
While the admissions procedure itself has been extremely accommodating to these applicants — having provided them with an accessible website and volunteers at the college level — they still face new and unique challenges when looking for a place to stay.
So much so, according to them, that they are willing to modify their academic ambition based on the availability of a hostel seat for a particular course.
“I would be extremely relieved if I get a hostel seat. Else, I will have to look at PG options which are usually quite expensive. In a hostel, I would be able to avail waivers for the fees, including the mess making it affordable for me,” said Aman Kumar, 18, who is making plans for his future course of study, contingent on the availability of a hostel seat.
“I am willing to change my choice of subject, if it ensures that I get a hostel seat,” he further said. Hailing from Bihar, Aman, a visually challenged student who studied at the J.P.M. Senior Secondary School for the Blind and aspires to study history at the university, has presently taken admission in B.A. Programme at Ramjas College.
Abhishek Kumar Chaurasiya, 19, one of Aman’s classmates, is following a similar route. He argued that the university’s 5% reservation policy for PwD applicants was not accommodating enough given the increasing number of applicants.
“The hostels do follow a policy of reserving 5% seats, which is usually implemented within the already existing course-based seat distribution, leaving only 2-3 seats available for the PwD applicants,” he said. Originally from Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Chaurasiya also wants to pursue history.
“I would prefer a seat in the hostel over a PG, because hostels have ramps and other infrastructural facilities that would be of immense help to me. I have applied for the same, but I have only secured 92%, so I don’t think I will get it,” said another aspirant seeking a hostel seat at LSR College.
“We have received approximately 1,650 applications under the category and the number of applications has gone up steadily due to the work we do and the support we provide,” said Professor Anil Aneja, nodal officer, PwD, Delhi University.
Facilities provided
According to Professor Aneja, the services provided by Delhi University, in terms of infrastructure and resources, attract a number of PwD applicants from outside Delhi. This, in turn, increases the demand for hostel seats in the colleges.
Responding to these concerns, Bipin Kumar Tiwari, officer on special duty at the Equal Opportunity Cell, said, “I do understand these concerns, however, the number of students seeking admissions in Delhi University has increased, while the infrastructure remains the same. However, I would like to point out that the Equal Opportunity Cell was ensuring 5% reservation in hostel seats across all colleges, even before the Act came into place.”
“They should attempt to either revise the reservation or increase infrastructure, because this has been a problem for many of my seniors as well,” Mr. Chaurasiya said.
